Philosophy

Guitar theft sucks -
No matter who you are, you just wanted a nice guitar, and now some asshat
has gone and stolen it. Otherwise you wouldn't be reading this.

They're too valuable, too easy to move, and too small for most law enforcement to care about.

The situation where you live may be different, but the fact remains that it is
too easy for people to steal and resell guitars, and too difficult to register and search
for stolen guitars.

The Crux Of The Problem

# 1) There's no incentive to look for or report stolen guitars

Even if a pawnshop, guitar shop, or potential buyer thinks your guitar's stolen,
there's no good reason for them to check your guitar's serial number.
Why? If they do find out your guitar is stolen, there's really nothing
in it for them - except they're losing the chance to get a cheap guitar.

# 2) There's no easy way for the common person to check a guitar's serial number

Following right on the heels of #1, - there's no easy way for you or I, a guitar shop, or a pawn shop,
or ANYBODY to run serial numbers, even if a guitar is sitting in front of us.